Google

Announced last week, the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) is the newest post-secondary institution to join Google's controversial library project -- a venture that strives to provide user access to various library collections and digital ... reference materials. The project, dubbed Google Book Search, utilizes the same technology as the company's main search engine and allows users to wade through millions of publications by searching for a particular phrase or topic. Google's project was launched last year with five renowned libraries participating: Harvard University, Stanford University, ... (view more)

Google's newest billion-dollar deal with online video innovator YouTube.com is the latest in a series of attention-grabbing headlines that feature the prominent search engine giant. These headlines are no doubt benefiting Google, but may be forcing ... the company's rivals to loose their competitive edge. And no competitor is feeling the heat as much as Yahoo. Yahoo, a veteran of the online world, and still very popular, and is currently battling perceptions (and possibly realities) that it is continually being beaten by Google. The past quarter has been financially devastating for Yahoo. In July ... (view more)

Google is at it again! The company is seemingly on a quest to buy the entire Internet. And that trend continued with its recent purchase of the video sharing website YouTube.com for $1.65 billion in stock. When a corporate buyout takes place, the ... new owners generally attempt to change or compromise their shiny new acquisition in some way. However, that won't be the case with YouTube, according to Google's press release: "YouTube will operate independently to preserve its successful brand and passionate community." Representatives of both Google and YouTube have already made comments about the ... (view more)

Google's ambitious book scanning project has the company embroiled in yet another lawsuit -- this time, from a number of literary organizations. Currently, the Google project returns snippets of content contained in books after a search is run on ... the Google search engine. Those who are interested in reading the entire book have the option of purchasing it or obtaining it through a library. (Source: siliconvalley.com ) Google's project presently includes titles from seven libraries including the libraries of Harvard University and Stanford University. Google says that anyone who does not want ... (view more)

Late last week, Google released a significantly redesigned version of its RSS Reader, aptly named "Google Reader." The new design improves Google's previous Reader, which was criticized for its unconventional format and instability when it was ... introduced last October. (Source: eweek.com) What is an RSS Reader? Google is promoting it's newly revamped product as "your inbox for the web," which is a great way to think about how an RSS (Rich Site Summary) reader works. An RSS Reader is, quite simply, a software application or a hosted service that collects syndicated content (such as news content ... (view more)

Not long ago, "Google" was added to the Oxford English Dictionary as a verb -- a move that signalled Google's dominance in the search engine industry and recognized the fact that the word "Google" is sometimes synonomous with "search" or "find" when ... it comes to online activity. However, the company has recently come under attack for copyright related issues. On Tuesday, Google posted a blog entry entitled "Our Approach to Content" defending their practices. The blog, authored by David Eun, VP of Content Partnerships, notes Google's vision of organizing world-wide information and making it ... (view more)

Just in time for the holiday shopping season, Google plans to upgrade its product search capabilities via its main search engine. A Google official publicly revealed the news early last week at the Professional eBay Sellers Alliance (PESA) Summit in ... San Francisco. (Source: pcadvisor.co.uk ) How Will the Upgrade Work? According to analysts at Bear Stearns ... (view more)

The world's bibliophiles have a new place to consume their daily intake of literature as Google Book Search now offers free book downloads available in PDF format. The company announced last week that it will provide free PDF downloads of public ... domain classic out-of-copyright titles that users can view at their leisure. Books that are being offered for download include all titles published before 1923 in the US, and feature such classics as Dante's "Inferno," Aesop's "Fables," Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and Ferriar's The "Bibliomania." The PDF download carries a watermark that identifies the ... (view more)

Apple announced this past Tuesday that Google CEO Eric Schmidt has been appointed to the company's board of directors. Schmidt will still remain CEO of Google. Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO praised both Schmidt and Google saying that "Eric is obviously ... doing a terrific job as CEO of Google, and we look forward to his contributions as a member of Apple's board of directors … Like Apple, Google is very focused on innovation and we think Eric's insights and experience will be very valuable in helping to guide Apple in the years ahead." (Source: eetimes.com ) Schmidt brings to Apple 20 years of ...<a href="/news/1535/googles-ceo-joins-apples-board-directors" class="more-link">view more

Is Google losing its cool? The company once considered to be the "it" IT organization -- complete with customizable employee cubicles -- is now acting like your mother. Despite its attempts to reach into pretty much every avenue an Internet-based ... company can, Google is surprising some followers by demanding that the public stop using its name in off-hand casual conversation. For example: Let's say you went to a baseball game. A batter recently called up from the minors steps to the plate, takes a good look at a high-outside pitch before pounding the ball into the opposite bleachers. "Wow," ... (view more)